Comcast and Time Warner Cable Pull Out of Annual Dinner for Political Reasons

Both Comcast and Time Warner Cable have now pulled out of a major annual cable industry event. Multichannel News reports that TWC followed Comcast’s lead, pulling funding and sponsorship from the Kaitz Dinner, slated to take place Sept. 17 in New York.

The event, which raises funds for diversity programs, has received funding from both cable giants for decades. That funding “came under scrutiny in the media following a blog posting by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) dated Aug. 11 about the sponsorships, given that FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn was being honored … and would also be helping decide whether Comcast and Time Warner Cable would be able to merge,” the story reports.

The report cites a source saying TWC has notified Kaitz leaders that the company plans to redirect its funding and does not want its name on the dinner.

The report adds: “Comcast earlier today said it had pulled its name off the dinner and would instead give $110,000 — it had not yet contributed its dinner funding — to the Walter Kaitz Foundation and its overarching diversity efforts. TWC indicated to Kaitz that it wanted the funding it had already given for the dinner to be redirected to the foundation.”

A company spokesperson for TWC is quoted saying: “It is unfortunate that our long-standing sponsorship of this fund-raising event dedicated to advancing diversity in cable has been mischaracterized by a few. We are redirecting our giving in the cable dinner to the foundation’s unrestricted funds for their programs. Time Warner Cable will not be recognized as a sponsor.”